Black Leader Decries Job Situation In Area

February 22, 1985|by TOM LOWRY, The Morning Call

Job discrimination against blacks is much more serious in the Lehigh Valley than in the rest of the country, according to one local black leader who is urging area industries and governments to take a closer look at their hiring practices.

Richard P. Burton, president of the Allentown chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, said yesterday that black unemployment figures for the area are much higher than the national average for blacks. "People in positions" who do the hiring must "see what they're doing and what they're not doing," he said.

Burton has spent the week setting new priorities for the local chapter after attending the 76th annual NAACP convention Saturday in New York City, where unemployment among blacks was a major theme.

During the convention, NAACP Executive Director Benjamin L. Hooks called for a meeting with President Reagan to discuss a series of problems, including unemployment and discrimination.

The meeting Saturday was "inspirational," Burton said. Among the initiatives to be undertaken by Burton and the Allentown NAACP will be meeting with business and government leaders to "give them the facts and share our concerns with them."

Among those he wishes to talk with are officials at AT&T Technologies, Stroh Brewery, Air Products and ALPO Pet Foods, as well as hospitals and the city of Allentown.

Burton said you never see a black person in the local newspapers under the section for business promotions. "No blacks are getting promotions," he said. "They come here after college, see what the situation is like, and go to other cities," he said.

Reports of harassment on the job have even gotten back to Burton.

Between government and industry in the area, Burton said, "Private industry is more apt to hire blacks" and less defensive than cities about charges of discrimination.

Burton points out that Allentown has never had a black principal in its school system, has never had a black school board member and has only one black fireman. In a city with 5,000 blacks, Burton said, he finds these facts hard to accept.

Lillie Brown, president of the Bethlehem chapter of the NAACP, said she, too, has been observing the black employment situation. She said in Bethlehem, at least, she has been seeing many more blacks in the workplace. "Things seem to be coming along nicely here," she said.

She said her group has distributed fliers throughout the area, encouraging people to hire blacks.

Thomas Bright, president of Easton's NAACP, said he has received several complaints about discrimination in his area but nothing he could elaborate on.

"Blacks are losing jobs faster than they're being hired," he said. The Easton chapter is always actively trying to find blacks more work, either through phone calls or visits to plants, he said.

Asked why the situation is reportedly so bleak for blacks in the Lehigh Valley, Burton said it's beendifficult for people to focus on the problems of blacks with the current economic situation. "While you're fighting the battle, you have other things to do," he said.

It is important to talk to young people and get them trained, said Burton, who also plans to visit schools as part of the NAACP's new goals.

Burton said he's been received well by the people he's visited but that "we need more than being received well. We want results."